20 Great Films You Won't Believe Aren't On IMDb's Top 250
10. The Searchers
Rating: 8.0
Out of the many exclusions from the list, this will probably shock people the most.
The Searchers earns its classic reputation because it is a work of real richness and humanity. This thrilling and profoundly moving Western is, thanks to a psychologically complex story and incredible cinematography, one of the true classics of the 20th century.
The best way to summarize how incredible The Searchers is lies within its central protagonist. Apologies to Travis Bickle, but John Wayne's Ethan Edwards is the best movie antihero of all time. The moral complexity, pathos and hardness that lie within the character perfectly reflect the film surrounding him. The fact that Edwards, a murderous racist, keeps our sympathy throughout is maybe the single most impressive thing about The Searchers.
It's ranked 7th in Sight and Sound's top 10. With all due respect to IMDb, that is a more prestigious ranking so some people saw sense at least. As for IMDb, for the time being, The Searchers is still searching for a place on the Top 250. As Ethan Edwards would say, "That'll be the day."
It's also got the best final shot in film history.
Where It Should Be: #50-#100